patchwork quilt?

Question

I want to make a blanket with a whole bunch of different fabrics. I don't have a sewing machine, is it possible to make without it? Also I want to use a plain fabric for the other side. What can I "stuff it" with to make it like a real blanket? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

A patchwork quilt without a sewing machine...it can be done using your iron. It will take some engineering but... if there is a will--there is a way!

I would purchase iron on interfacing from a fabric store. My first choice would be a knit interfacing but if that isn't available, something light or medium weight. Purchase enough to make it as long and as wide as you want. I recommend the interfacing from Palmer Pletsch if you can find it: http://www.palmerpletsch.com/pfuse.htm

If done properly, the bond will be permanent.

I recommend "Warm & Natural" for the inside because it is a sturdy "stuffing" that doesn't require a lot of quilting to hold it together through washing and drying: http://www.warmcompany.com/wnpage.html This website has information on where you can find their product.

To put the top, middle and bottom together can be a little tricky. First of all, you will have to join the three pieces together. A tried a true way to join the pieces together would be to tie them with yarn. Sew the yarn through all three layers and then back up along side the first stitch. Tie the two ends together. Project Linus also suggested another way to tie a quilt if you don't like little tufts of yarn on your quilt: http://kcprojectlinus.home.att.net/_quiltie.html

After you have tied the quilt, you need to secure the edges and this is where I'm not so sure the best way would be; however, here are a couple possibilities:

1. You could also use yarn and a heavy duty needle and do a simple blanket stitch around the edges: http://www.quilttownusa.com/Town_Hall/dfexperts.htm

2. You can use blanket binding or something similar and use strips of Steam-a-Seam 2 lite to iron them togther. Steam-a-Seam 2 lite is tacky on both sides so you can hold the binding down before you iron it for a permanent hold. http://www.warmcompany.com/lsaspage.html

Good luck! And have fun!

Answer 2

yes you can make a quilt without a machine. when you sew the pieces together mark 1/4 inch along pieces then sew in and out put a couple of stitches on the needle and pull thread through then insert needle behind last stitch and load needle again.
you can buy quilt batting at any fabric store or Wal-Mart. for a quilt of may different fabrics in suggest a low loft batting.

Answer 3

The way quilts were always pieced together long ago was without a sewing machine, so yes you can definitely sew it "by hand." It will definitely take longer to do it by hand though than using a sewing machine, but many people find the process quite relaxing, and it can also be done in front of the TV, radio, etc., if you want.

You could use fusible webbing as mentioned above, or even fabric glue instead of stitching, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it because it would be difficult to make it as strong as a stitched quilt, especially if you wanted to clean it in a washing machine and dryer.

Here are some lessons on "hand piecing" a quilt .... there are LOADS of different patterns you can piece though:

http://www.roserushbrooke.com/how-to-hand-piece-1.html
(be sure to look at pages 2 and 3 too)

http://ajpadilla.com/beginners-corner/hand-piecing-tutorial/general-indications-hand-piecing

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=%22hand+piecing%22

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=%22hand+piecing%22+how+to+


You can piece the quilt "top" by just sewing the cut out pieces together, or you can do what's called "foundation piecing" which means you'd be sewing the pieces onto a foundation fabric one at a time (usually a muslin fabric, which won't end up showing), usually to create "blocks" that you'd then sew together, instead of sewing just the pieces together alone. If you want to see how some foundation piecing is done, look here:
http://www.quilt.com/HowTo/FoundationHowToPage.html
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2cqbwz

After you've made the top in either of those ways, you can then make a sandwich with the top you made by stacking that layer with a "back" or baking layer --made of "whole cloth"* in your case-- plus a middle layer which will give the quilt more warmth and also give it height if you use a "fluffy" one. (Quilts are usually not "stuffed" in the sense that a fabric toy is stuffed after making an enclosure with it, they have some kind of sheet-like "batting" inside instead... some older people may call the batting layer "stuffing" though.)

Polyester batting is sold in sheets in packages or on huge rolls at fabric shops and is relatively inexpensive; it works well if you only want to "tie" the quilt sandwich together (to keep the layers from shifting) rather than "quilting" the quilt sandwich (which takes a lot longer).
You can also do like they did in the old days and put an old blanket or anything else you want as the middle layer of the quilt sandwich... different middles could be heavier or lighter, a little warmer to a lot warmer, stiffer or fluffier, depending on which you choose.

Then if you want to "quilt" the quilt sandwich (by hand or by machine) to hold the layers together, you'll want a middle layer that's fairly flat so you'd use either a thin polyester batting, or a cotton batting, or something else that's thin and easy to quilt through.

*a backing can be made from a large piece of purchased fabric or a sheet or even a thicker fabric if you want that... if the quilt is wider than the fabric you find though, you'll have to piece together two (or more) separate pieces to create the backing


Actually, hand piecing is more accurate than machine piecing, and you also don't have to worry too much about cutting the pieces out exactly the right size... with hand piecing, it's more about marking the fabric correctly (then sewing on that line) than cutting out accurately.


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 4

a quilt takes a lot of time to do. I would go to your library and pick up several beginner books on quilting. make sure to pre wash any new fabric you buy before cutting it